Traffic accidents often occur due to the vehicle operator, or driver, not being aware of the surrounding traffic situation. For example, distracted driving is a well known traffic safety problem, and it has e.g. been estimated that a large amount of all road vehicle accidents involve driver distraction.
In order to prevent accidents caused by the operator not being aware of the surrounding traffic situation, it is possible to provide the operator with a warning message to re-establish the attention of the operator to the surrounding traffic situation. However, it is also crucial that a warning system does not warn in situations where the operator is aware of the surrounding traffic situation since such a warning system may cause information overload to the operator, and reduce the level of trust the operator has with regard to the warnings. For example, eye-tracking devices for monitoring the operator's eye during operation are possible. However, eye-gaze direction is difficult to monitor and eye-tracking is often lost.
Hence, there exist a need for a system and a method that provides improved real time in-vehicle estimation of the vehicle operator's attention and/or awareness of the operator's surroundings during operation of a vehicle based on the operator's visual input.